It will take more to fix Seven Falls

Published: Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 8:32 p.m.

Halting the flow of mud washing off the bankrupt Seven Falls development should have been done years ago. Now, thanks to action by Superior Court Judge Zoro J. Guice Jr., work can finally begin.

After viewing a video of the degraded conditions at the 1,300-acre site, Guice on Monday granted Henderson County’s request to use up to $262,000 in bond proceeds to start repairing the worst erosion problems.

County Attorney Russ Burrell asked the court for permission to use a portion of the $6 million performance bond forfeited by developers. Estimates to finish roads and other infrastructure have risen to $8.4 million, $2.4 million more than the bonded amount.

The property was reported in a state of “advanced deterioration” in July 2010, but nothing has been done since then to keep it from getting worse. The situation is being made worse by a very wet spring, with rainfall running close to 6 inches above normal since April 1.

We know it’s going to cost far more than $262,000 to repair the mess developer Keith Vinson left when he halted work on the planned grandiose golfing community. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has threatened to block work on new stream crossings unless the county pays $800,000 to repair damage to streams and wetlands off the site. The N.C. Division of Water Quality blocked permits for the county to continue roadwork unless fines assessed to Vinson for stormwater violations are paid.

The Corps revoked Vinson’s 2008 permit that allowed him to install culverts and bridges along streams after he failed to mitigate their impacts. “Unfortunately, he installed most of those impacts anyway, so we requested that those illegal impacts come out,” said Scott Jones, chief of the Corps’ Asheville field office, in February.

For the county to get a new permit, the Corps estimates it would cost about $1.13 million to purchase stream credits from the state to offset impacts of culverts and other alterations along 3,100 feet of streams in Seven Falls. In addition, engineer Bill Lapsley estimated stream restoration projects required by the state will cost about $200,000.

Vinson’s track record on Seven Falls has been terrible. However, he is right when he says it will take more than the $262,000 that Guice approved to repair erosion on the property. Vinson estimates it will cost $340,975. These costs are only to clean out sediment traps and seed and stabilize the worst eroding areas. They don’t include the bigger job of restoring once clear-flowing trout streams on and off the site. Either figure represents a Band-Aid when major surgery is what’s really needed.

Given the need to get moving before things get any worse, however, Guice did the right thing by approving the $262,000 and requiring the county to get court approval for additional money. If work isn’t started soon and heavy rains continue, “we could have a Grand Canyon out there,” the judge noted. The county must now play catch-up to assure that doesn’t happen.

<p>Halting the flow of mud washing off the bankrupt Seven Falls development should have been done years ago. Now, thanks to action by Superior Court Judge Zoro J. Guice Jr., work can finally begin.</p><p>After viewing a video of the degraded conditions at the 1,300-acre site, Guice on Monday granted Henderson County’s request to use up to $262,000 in bond proceeds to start repairing the worst erosion problems.</p><p>County Attorney Russ Burrell asked the court for permission to use a portion of the $6 million performance bond forfeited by developers. Estimates to finish roads and other infrastructure have risen to $8.4 million, $2.4 million more than the bonded amount.</p><p>The property was reported in a state of advanced deterioration in July 2010, but nothing has been done since then to keep it from getting worse. The situation is being made worse by a very wet spring, with rainfall running close to 6 inches above normal since April 1.</p><p>We know it’s going to cost far more than $262,000 to repair the mess developer Keith Vinson left when he halted work on the planned grandiose golfing community. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has threatened to block work on new stream crossings unless the county pays $800,000 to repair damage to streams and wetlands off the site. The N.C. Division of Water Quality blocked permits for the county to continue roadwork unless fines assessed to Vinson for stormwater violations are paid.</p><p>The Corps revoked Vinson’s 2008 permit that allowed him to install culverts and bridges along streams after he failed to mitigate their impacts. Unfortunately, he installed most of those impacts anyway, so we requested that those illegal impacts come out, said Scott Jones, chief of the Corps’ Asheville field office, in February.</p><p>For the county to get a new permit, the Corps estimates it would cost about $1.13 million to purchase stream credits from the state to offset impacts of culverts and other alterations along 3,100 feet of streams in Seven Falls. In addition, engineer Bill Lapsley estimated stream restoration projects required by the state will cost about $200,000.</p><p>Vinson’s track record on Seven Falls has been terrible. However, he is right when he says it will take more than the $262,000 that Guice approved to repair erosion on the property. Vinson estimates it will cost $340,975. These costs are only to clean out sediment traps and seed and stabilize the worst eroding areas. They don’t include the bigger job of restoring once clear-flowing trout streams on and off the site. Either figure represents a Band-Aid when major surgery is what’s really needed.</p><p>Given the need to get moving before things get any worse, however, Guice did the right thing by approving the $262,000 and requiring the county to get court approval for additional money. If work isn’t started soon and heavy rains continue, we could have a Grand Canyon out there, the judge noted. The county must now play catch-up to assure that doesn’t happen.</p>